Why College Hockey Arenas Are the Cathedrals of Sports (2024)

Most sports arenas being built these days are big on luxury boxes, videoboards and "retro" architecture. The conventions of the medium have become so entrenched that if you're not looking at the team names on the scoreboard, it may be difficult to know what city you're in.

Unless, of course, you walk into a college hockey arena.

For a number of reasons, this niche sport, which is concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest, has become a showplace for unusual stadium architecture?and on many campuses, the best fan experience going.

As the sport grows in size and stature, schools like Michigan, Northeastern and Yale have maintained the character of their grand old buildings while another crop of schools like Notre Dame, Boston University and Minnesota-Duluth have built, or are planning to build, distinctive new venues.

So here's a question: What are these arenas like - And what are their coolest attributes- With award season upon us, The Wall Street Journal has joined the party with a new prize: the Golden Zamboni. Based on visits to 10 unique hockey campuses, here are the winners and (losers) in 10 categories.

BEST HISTORY: Northeastern

Northeastern might never overtake its local rivals, Boston College and Boston University, in winning games: It's been 23 years since the Huskies last won the Beanpot, Boston's annual college-hockey tournament. But when it comes to Northeastern's Matthews Arena, no other building comes close. Opened in 1910, Matthews (known as Boston Arena until 1982) claims to be the world's oldest existing ice hockey arena-and is the original home of both the Boston Bruins and Celtics. It's even two years older than Fenway Park, the beloved home of the Red Sox.

Don't be fooled when you see it: the brick building's age is concealed by a recent renovation that brought a new scoreboard, upgraded seats and a refurbished lobby.

BEST ICE: New Hampshire

A major difference between college and NHL arenas is that the ice-surface dimensions of college rinks can vary. NHL rules specify that rinks must measure 200 feet by 85 feet wide.

The bigger the surface, the more wide-open the game. New Hampshire's Whittemore Center uses the dimensions for international play (200-by-100). One further distinction about the Whittemore ice: Students toss a dead fish onto it after UNH's first goal. "Because the goalie has to fish the puck out of the net," explains a spokesman.

LEAST LIVELY: Princeton

In fairness, we caught Princeton on a tough night?a Tuesday game against overmatched Sacred Heart while the student body was on break.

Still, Princeton's ancient Hobey Baker Rink (opened in 1923) is well known for both looking and sounding like a library. The building itself is a jewel: a tiny, roughly 2,000-seat rink with exposed brick throughout that's named for the legendary early-1900s Princeton football and hockey star. It's also in a good spot across from the recently built Whitman residential college and next to a train station. But the fans lack passion. In the Sacred Heart game, the visiting goalie got yanked midway through the first period yet heard nothing from the crowd.

BEST DESIGN: Yale

Not everyone appreciates the "Yale Whale," Yale's distinctive Ingalls Rink. According to an old newspaper clipping on display at the arena, Harry S. Truman called it a "nightmare" during a visit to campus.The best place to watch the game, though, is the standing-room ramp that encircles the rink?which fills up before the seats. Stuart Comen, a chef at Yale who has been attending games for over 20 years, has two season-ticket seats, but he doesn't use them. "After standing nine hours in the kitchen, I stand three hours here," he said.

MOST INTIMIDATING: Wisconsin

Wisconsin's Kohl Center, which doubles as a basketball arena, may feel a bit soulless. Built in 1998, it lacks the historical character and hockey-shrine feel of some of the sport's other venues. But Badgers fans, the most committed of whom are known as "Crease Creatures," are perhaps the scariest bunch of fans for visiting teams?especially since more than 15,000 of them can fit in the building. (Wisconsin boasts the best attendance in college hockey.)

North Dakota fan Rick LaFleur admitted recently that when it comes to the intimidation factor, North Dakota's home ice is "vanilla" in comparison to the supercharged atmosphere at Badgers' games, which he described as "double chocolate mocha."

BEST CROWD: Michigan

Michigan's intimate 6,600-seat Yost Ice Arena isn't flashy?it's chilly with narrow corridors, wood paneling that's reminiscent of a ski lodge and a skate rental window that makes it feel like a community rink. Students fill nearly half the arena for every game and their enthusiasm, coordination and ruthlessness makes it our pick for the best hockey student section in the country. Never mind that they stole most of their cheers from Cornell, says a team spokesman: the myriad expletives that Wolverine fans have added over the years "are vintage Michigan."

MOST OPULENT: North Dakota

At Ralph Engelstad Arena, the air is sweet with the smell of roasting Bavarian almonds. The floors are marble, chandeliers dangle from the ceilings, mirrors are framed in gold and fireworks go off whenever the Sioux score. Every seat?even in the student section?is extra wide with armrests and cushioning. It's the luxurious experience you'd expect from the late Mr. Engelstad, a former UND player who owned casinos and clearly had a taste for the finer things. Suiteholders have tricked out their boxes with leather couches, pinball machines and vintage jukeboxes. The coaches' locker room has a sauna. Since the arena opened in 2001 there have been a dozen wedding receptions a year held in the lobby.

BEST LOCAL FLAVOR: Minnesota-Duluth

Duluth's new Amsoil Arena, which opened this winter, doesn't have the same harbor views of Lake Superior, but it oozes local flavor. Bar tops in the fireplace-warmed "Bulldog Lounge" are made from local taconite rock, flecked with red iron ore; walls are inlaid with Minnesota stone and the decorative panels are made of wood salvaged from old grain elevators. On the walls are quotations from Duluth's two biggest local celebrities: frozen-pizza impresario Jeno Paulucci and Bob Dylan.

MOST SOBER: Minnesota

The cavernous Mariucci Arena, built in 1993, has become the stuff of legend. It features international-sized ice and 10,000 seats that slope steeply upward for optimum views. But ever since the University's decision to ban alcohol sales in premium sections, suites have been a tough sell, says arena manager Craig Flor. Minnesota President Bob Bruininks said this fall he might start talks to get liquor back for the VIPs.

BEST ATMOSPHERE: Maine

Games at Maine's Alfond Arena feel like the hockey version of Friday Night Lights. The crowd is a mix of diehard locals and feverish students (one of whom hangs a referee doll in effigy when the officials skate onto the ice. At one end of the 5,445-seat arena, a section of fans sits in an ear-splitting site directly below the band. "There's nothing like Maine hockey," said Melissa Cross, who's been attending games since she was 8. "What else are you going to do when it's 20 below?"